The European Commissioner – Johannes
Hann, in charge of the European Commission for European Neighborhood Policy and
Enlargement Negotiations opened The European School in Georgia.
Mikheil Batiashvili - Minister of Education, Science, Culture and Sport addressed
the guests at the opening ceremony, who said that this important event is one
of the most important recognition of Georgia’s historic choice towards the
European family.
The European School is the first of
its kind in Georgia that has been established outside the EU countries and
provides European-level secondary education for 16-17 year olds. The students
will be selected from the Eastern Partnership countries based on their academic
performance and receive their corresponding scholarships. The advantages will
be given to socially vulnerable successful students. After completing the
school, students will receive Bachelor's Degree worthy of the European level.
According to Mikheil Batiashvili, the new school
will be a beacon of multicultural training and residential environment paired
with various interesting informal educational programs. This will be an
opportunity for young people to learn, live and practice what is the main value
of the EU - unity in diversity.
The Ministry of Education, Science,
Culture and Sport of Georgia will continue to work with the European and
Eastern European partners to design a long-term model for the school, co-financed
by the European Commission in order to ensure the sustainability and further
functionality of the Eastern Partnership European School.
As a result of the 2018-2019
academic year, the European Commission has selected 30 students from six
Eastern Partnership countries: Armenia (4), Azerbaijan (2), Belarus (4),
Georgia (8), Moldova (5), and Ukraine (7).
Owing to the joint decision of the Ministry and
the European "Eastern Partnership", the school will function on the
premises of the private school – “New School”.